by J C Gordon
“She’s gone,” Caleb snapped tersely. He was sure his friend had said something to upset his woman. He wasn’t fooled by the innocence in Demetri’s tone.
Demetri laughed softly down the phone. “Well, if you don’t know where your little human is I don’t know why you would think I would know where she is. Maybe she’s tired of you already?”
“What did you say to her, Demetri? You forget how well I know you. Keeping your mouth shut is not a skill set you’re particularly good at. Now, if you don’t want me to come over there and beat it out of you, I suggest you start talking right now.” Caleb’s tone brooked no argument, his anger clearly audible.
“Oh, very well,” Demetri sighed, wearily. “I may have pointed out the fact that your ‘relationship’ couldn’t last, what with you being a vampire and Annie being a human. How was I to know you hadn’t discussed that little ‘hiccup’ with her? I thought it was fairly obvious myself.”
Caleb’s breath hissed out angrily, and he seriously contemplated going over and kicking the shit out of Demetri, but he needed to find Rhianna first and make sure she was okay.
“In future keep your opinions to yourself, Demetri,” he hissed down the phone. “If you find you just can’t manage it, then I suggest you fuck off to some far flung region of the planet for a couple of centuries where I can’t track you down and beat you senseless. Just in case I am not making myself clear here, DO NOT fuck with Annie ever again! You hurt her in any way, and I will hurt you back a thousand times worse.”
“Fuck, I really hope what you’ve got isn’t contagious, my friend,” Demetri chuckled, softly. “I’d rather pay someone to take my head, than fall in love, if I’d start reacting like you are.” He chuckled harder when Caleb growled loudly down the phone at him. “Alright! I get the message, Caleb. I swear I will not upset your little human again. Now go find her before you burst a blood vessel or something.”
Caleb was so close to crushing his phone, when Demetri terminated the call. Sometimes he hated his friend with a vengeance, and this was one of those times. He knew he’d calm down once he found Rhianna and talked to her, but right at the moment he wanted to kill his friend.
Rafe remembered the vampire Demetri from the night Caleb came looking for him. The vampire had been irritating to say the least. He found it hard to understand what Caleb saw in him. “Is Annie okay?” he asked Caleb. If this Demetri had hurt her in anyway, he would kill the vampire and worry about the consequences later.
Rafe’s anger transmitted to Caleb, and he forced himself to relax slightly. “I’m sure she’s fine, Rafe. I’m going to head out for a bit and track her down.” He grabbed his car keys and swiftly left the house.
~~~~~
“Mmmmm, Jared, what do you think you’re doing?” Millie squealed, as she tried to lay out clothes on the bed. It should have been a simple task, but he kept getting in her way, dropping little kisses on whatever exposed skin he could find. It wasn’t that she objected to his warm lips brushing against her skin, only he had promised to take her to Caleb’s house, so she could see Rafe, and she was really anxious to get there.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Jared rumbled huskily, his tone light and teasing, as he watched Millie’s robe part temptingly, as she moved around the room. He grabbed her around the waist, as she tried to slip past him to get to something on her dressing table.
“Jared, come on.” Millie groaned in exasperation, as she tried to pull some clean lingerie out of the pile on the top of her dressing table. She really did need to fold them and put them away. She would have, if she had known she was going to have a man in her bedroom.
“That’s what I’m trying to do, baby,” he laughed, softly. “I’m trying to come on to you.”
He seemed to find his play on words very amusing, and Millie wondered if a smack around the head would convince him to stop thinking with his dick and concentrate on getting ready so he could take her to Caleb’s. She turned to give him a piece of her mind, but his big hands stopped her.
One moment she was upright, and the next, she was bent over the dressing table on her stomach with her robe up past her hips, and Jared’s thick fingers running over her backside to slide down between her legs. She gasped in a combination of shock and arousal and felt her face flush scarlet, as she immediately became wet at the contact of his hand on her tender flesh.
She winced slightly at the tenderness there and Jared’s fingers gentled immediately. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the side of her neck, before running his mouth slowly up to her ear.
“Sorry, baby, I forgot you would be a little tender. Let me kiss it better for you.” He dropped to his knees before she even registered his words and spread her legs.
“Jared,” she groaned, moving to push herself upright, and then, his tongue laved her and the breath whooshed out of her as liquid fire shot through her veins. “Oh!” she gasped hoarsely, and he chuckled against her heated flesh and paused in his ministrations.
Jared had really tried his hardest to leave her alone, to give her time to recover from her first experience of sex, but her scent was driving him wild and the little flashes of skin teasing him, as she moved proved too much for him. He growled his pleasure, as his woman gave up fighting him and began moving her hips backwards, pressing against his mouth.
She tasted so damned good. His cock was hard and throbbing, and he knew he would pay for his actions with his own unfulfilled need, but he had to taste her, had to give his woman pleasure. He loved tasting her like this, bringing her release from the most intimate of kisses.
He could feel her starting to tense, knew her completion was just moments away, and he increased his ministrations. He was so desperate to be inside her there was a ringing noise in his ears as she moaned loudly and shattered against his mouth.
He growled, drawing out her pleasure. This was so worth walking around with a raging hard-on for the rest of the day. His ears were still ringing, and it took a moment for him to realise that the sound wasn’t in his head.
“Jared, someone’s at the door,” Millie suddenly gasped, pushing her body up from the dressing table and looking down at him. Her face flushed scarlet, as she took in his heated eyes and wet mouth. “Oh God, you don’t think whoever it is heard, do you?” she asked, mortified.
Jared laughed and stood up trying to position himself so it didn’t ache so painfully. He grabbed his shirt and pulled in on but left it unbuttoned. “You get ready, baby. I’ll see who’s at the door.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips before he ran a hand over his mouth and stepped out of the bedroom.
Whoever it was at the door wasn’t going away. Jared could feel his temper starting to rise, as he strode across to the front door to open it. Whoever it was better have a very good reason for interrupting them.
“Jared,” Caleb said, not the least bit surprised to see the Were at the apartment. His lips quirked in a little smile. “You missed a bit,” he commented, pointing at the other man’s face as he stepped around him and into the apartment.
Jared laughed and rolled his eyes, as he wiped at his face again. Caleb had no doubt heard everything in the apartment. Thankfully, Millie wouldn’t be aware of that fact. “I was going to call you,” he said, as he closed the door. “Millie knows everything, apart from you that is. She wants to go see Rafe. I trust that won’t be an issue.”
Caleb sat down in one of the armchairs. “That’s fine with me. I’m starting to get used to my home turning into Grand Central Station, since I’ve met Annie.” He had hoped to find his woman at the apartment, but knew instantly she wasn’t there. Her scent was nearly a day old.
“Sounds like Annie,” Jared smiled. He flopped down onto the sofa, stretched out his long legs and re-adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. Caleb’s appearance was helping with his frustration problem. “So, how is Rafe doing?” He was suddenly all Alpha.
The vampire smiled. “He’ll be back with the pack soon. I think he’s ready to come back now, but
he needs a little more time with his sister. You’ll find him much improved.”
Jared quirked an eyebrow in surprise. “So soon? Annie is a miracle worker. She’s not only managed to tame you, but she’s put Rafe back together again, and all in twenty four hours?”
Caleb’s smile widened. His woman really was a force to contend with. “I’m looking for her at the moment. I thought she might be here. Do you think Millie would have an idea where she would go to if she needed some quiet time to think?”
“The Botanical Gardens, by the pond display,” Millie said from the bedroom doorway. She had successfully managed to get dressed, throwing on a pair of jeans and a couple of tank tops, one over the other in two different shades of blue. “Did you two have a fight?”
Caleb sighed. “No, we’re fine,” he answered. “One of my friends said something which may have upset her. I just want to find her and make sure she’s okay.” He stood up relieved to have a possible location for Rhianna. “I’ll maybe see you later, if you’re still at the house when we get back.” He nodded to them both and left the flat.
“You know there’s something about that man that isn’t quite right,” Millie said, with a thoughtful expression on her face. Her cobalt blue eyes bored into Jared’s, as he shrugged as if he didn’t know what she was talking about. She would eventually have to know about the vampires, but he thought Rhianna and Caleb would prefer it if they told her.
“He’s not a Were, is he?” she suddenly asked and Jared burst out laughing.
“No, he most definitely is not a Were,” he smiled, standing up and buttoning his shirt. “Are you ready, yet?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. “You do know we’re going to see Rafe?” He laughed loudly, when she hit him with a cushion from the sofa.
~~~~~
Caleb stood silently under the shade of a large tree watching his woman, as she slowly paced up and down beside the pond in the Botanical Gardens. Her beautiful face was deep in thought, and he wanted to cross the final distance to her, but was afraid of the upcoming conversation. He sucked his breath in when she suddenly stopped pacing and turned to look directly at him.
She stood there for a long moment, and then she slowly smiled, and he was striding across to her and pulling her into his embrace. “I don’t like coming home and finding you gone.” He kissed the top of her head. “The house feels so empty without you.” He was astounded at just how empty it did feel without her in it.
“Demetri stopped by,” she answered quietly, resting her head against his chest and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.
The mention of his friend made him stiffen before he sucked in another deep breath. “I know, I’ve already spoken to him. Did he upset you, Annie, because if he did, I’m going to bloody kill him?”
Rhianna couldn’t help laughing at the outrage in his tone, turning to look up at her beautiful man. “Caleb, love, you can’t go around beating people up just because they speak the truth,” she said with a bit of humour in her eyes. “Demetri might be a pain in the ass, but he was only pointing out the inevitable.”
She sighed, trying to keep her emotions in check as she rested her head back on his chest. “You’re a vampire, and I’m human. You’re going to live forever, and I’m going to die.”
Caleb’s arms tightened around her, and a low groan escaped him. “Don’t say that, Annie,” he whispered. “I don’t ever want to think about you dying. I can’t bear the thought of not having you in my life.”
She stroked his chest, trying to soothe him even as her hand trembled. “It’s something we have to talk about, Caleb. We can’t bury our heads in the sand, no matter how much we want to. It’s going to happen one day. I’m not sad about dying. Well I am, but only because I know how much it will hurt you. What does make me sad is growing old, while you stay forever young.”
Caleb squeezed his eyes shut tightly, wanting desperately not to talk about it, but knowing he had to because she needed to. He let out a long breath and looked down at her, his finger tugging gently at her chin to raise her gaze up to his. “You will always be beautiful to me, my Annie,” he whispered, softly. “I will always love you, and I will always want to be with you.” He tried to put all of his emotion into his eyes, so she would see it and believe it.
She smiled her beautiful smile, her face glowing with her love for him, and he lifted her up so he could crush his mouth desperately against hers. All his fear of losing her was in the hard punishing slant of his mouth over her soft lips, his hands clutching her tightly to him. He didn’t want to lose her ever.
Her gentle response to him slowly soothed him, and his lips softened against hers, as he carried her over to the wooden bench beside the water and cradled her in his lap. His tongue delved into her moist heat to taste her sweetness. Nothing in the whole world tasted as good as his woman. She was sweetness and redemption all rolled into one. He finally released her mouth and cradled her head against his chest, as he stared unseeingly into the water before him.
“Caleb…” Rhianna hesitated, toying with a button on his shirt. “You know how Weres mate with humans. Can vampires do that, too?” She held her breath, when he stiffened against her, her fingers nervously pulling at the button until it suddenly snapped off in her hands, and she looked up guiltily.
Caleb didn’t seem to notice. His golden brown eyes were burning like amber, as he continued to stare unseeingly into the water, every muscle in his body locked tensely. He finally looked down at her, and she couldn’t read the expression on his face.
“This isn’t the life for you, Annie,” he finally said, his tone so quiet it was hard to hear it. “This isn’t the life I want for you. I should have been less selfish. I should have stayed away from you, but I wanted you so badly I just couldn’t. I don’t ever want to look into your beautiful eyes and see them become jaded the way it happens to my kind. Something about living for eternity makes everyone change in the end. We forget how to laugh and to love. We become selfish and cold. I would rather die, than see the love for life disappear from your eyes, Annie.”
She blinked slowly, a frown beginning to mar her brow. “Isn’t that my decision to make? Isn’t it up to me how I want to live my life? Can you honestly look at me and believe that I could ever become shallow and unfeeling? Maybe your kind has lost its way a bit, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change. You’re proof of that, Caleb. A few months ago you were like Demetri and look at you now.”
“Only because I met you, Annie. I’m not a shining example to wave in the air as a precursor to how my race can evolve. I’m an anomaly, an oddity, not the start of a new breed of vampire. You would have, maybe a few centuries, where you could retain your identity, your personality, if I turned you, maybe a little longer because you would still have Rafe and Millie around you to hold onto your humanity. Then the joy would start to recede, the light would fade from your eyes, hell, you’d probably even start to like Demetri.”
Rhianna’s lips twitched in a little smile. “That would be a fate worse than death,” she remarked dryly, and then she turned serious again. “I’m willing to take the risk, Caleb. I’m willing to believe in our love being strong enough.”
He groaned and buried his face in the side of her neck, hugging her tightly. “I’m too scared to take the risk, Annie,” he ground out hoarsely. “I can’t bear the thought of ever doing anything which would hurt you.”
She sighed and stroked his hair with a soothing hand. He was so stubborn sometimes. He worried like an old woman too. She smiled as she cupped his face gently in her hands and brushed her lips lightly against his. “I know what I want, Caleb,” she murmured against his mouth. “You know you want it too. We don’t have to make a decision right now, we have plenty of time. Just promise me you’ll think about it, love.”
She met his gaze and saw longing warring with reluctance and her smile widened. It was clear he wanted her for eternity, and she knew, without a doubt, she wanted him for eternity too. It was just a matter of getti
ng him to see things her way, and she was sure she would win the battle. “Come on, love, let’s go home,” she smiled
CHAPTER seventeen
Millie couldn’t stop touching Rafe. When he had opened the door to them earlier, she had shrieked with joy and thrown herself into his arms, laughing and crying at the same time. Jared’s wolf had protested loudly, as his mate wrapped herself around another man. He had tried his best to give her a moment with her adopted brother, but his wolf had won out, and he was soon growling and pulling her away from his beta.
Jared was surprised to see how easily Rafe handled his overt aggression. Usually aggression caused his beta to flinch and turn inward, but Rafe had smiled slowly and lowered his eyes submissively, letting his Alpha know he had no designs on his mate. It was only this submission and the obvious changes in Rafe which enabled Jared not to attack him every time Millie stroked his arm or his cheek, as she was doing right at that very minute. He couldn’t stop the low growl, which erupted from his throat as he clenched his hands at his side.
“Mills, will you let up with all the touching?” Rafe suddenly laughed. “You’re driving Jared nuts. Any more and he’s going to kick my ass, and I’d prefer for that not to happen.”
Millie’s cobalt blue eyes swung to Jared, and she took in his strained expression and tense stance. “What is your problem?” There was a hint of belligerence to her tone. “He’s my brother for goodness sake.”
“You have no blood relation to him,” Jared answered darkly, taking a step closer to her and shooting Rafe a black look.
“Jared,” Millie sighed, trying to fight down her exasperation. “Rafe has been taking care of me since I was a little girl. As far as I’m concerned, he’s my brother and that’s the end of it. So, stop acting like an ass.”
“He can’t help it, Mills,” Rafe chuckled, putting a bit more distance between them to try to soothe his Alpha a bit. “He’ll be like this until you mate with him properly.”
